Sea Salt: Hype or Health
Ahhh salt. We have to have some.. but not too much.
I’ve never been concerned about buying healthier salt. I never wanted to pay extra money for something we should be cutting back on anyway! And I’m pretty skeptical about most products touted to be healthier. A recent recipe got me curious enough to check out some Sea Salt at the store.
Upon arriving at the store and looking at the sea salt, I noticed almost all of them said they do not contain Iodine! A- Wha-Whaaat?? I’m love my iodized salt. Without it, we would be a nation full of goiters! Who wants a goiter? Not me! I almost didn’t want to buy the sea salt. But for $2.50, I gave in cause it had the little turny thing that grinds the salt.
Pro’s:
- Sea salt is minimally processed- right from the sea.
- People may prefer the taste
- People prefer the texture
- Trace minerals are present
Con’s
- It’s More expensive (but really not unreasonable)
- The main composition is sodium and chloride.. same as table salt.
- It’s still salt, which means… cut back!
- The trace minerals are probably quite insignificant unless you are consuming large amounts… to which it’s not good for you anyway.
My kids like to add salt to their cooked vegetables and their eggs.
But remember! The Dietary recommendations are no more than 2400 mg (or 1 added tsp) of sodium per day. However for children under 8 it is recommended no more than 1900 mg per day. I’ll be honest, I never feel good about adding salt to my kids food, so why spend the money on sea salt.
Random fact: Did you know that the lasagna at Macaroni Grill has 3900mg of sodium?
What’s your opinion? Sea salt? Love it or leave it?
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Love sea salt and use it in cooking recipes, but table salt if adding something after cooking. I do use salt on most things, but not too much.
I love sea salt, but you do make some really valid points. I might consider saving myself the money next time I am all out.
I do not salt anything! Even while cooking. Herbs are a better way to go. Besides, when I eat things that are salted, I get a migraine. A good enough reason for me to pass on the salt!
I love sea salt. Plain as that. I’m not an overdoing it on the salt kind of gal, but if I’m going to use salt I prefer it to be sea ;D
Grethen and Rose: My taste buds are so not evolved.. its hard for me to even pepsi and coke.
Joelle, I bet you can find a good sale on sea salt though!
Mom- Good for you!
Thanks for sharing Rose. Love your blog!
I just stumbled on your blog while looking for a carrot muffin recipe! (loved your recipe and love your blog, thank you for doing this!!) I buy Real Salt. It’s sea salt with all the trace minerals in it. I hardley salt my food, but when I do have to use in baking, cooking etc I’d rather be getting some minerals than none. And I WAY prefer the taste
We also use Real Salt and LOVE it! I love all the trace minerals in it. You can even see them, little specks of brown. 🙂
Here’s their website… http://www.realsalt.com
Oh and it contains iodine natually, vs being added. And I forgot to say how GREAT it taste! Ok sorry, I’m done now. Can you tell I like it?
Ahhh, it looks like the salt is from Utah too!
Thanks for the link, I have seen that salt, but haven’t tried it yet.
http://www.americasheartland.org/video/506_4_salt_of_the_earth.htm Here’s a great video. I found it interesting. It’s about salt mining in utah. SORRY! I really am done now! Just thought you would like this video. 🙂
Very cool Heather! Thanks for sharing the video! I love Utah! I wonder if they give tours of that mine in Heber.
I actually have been to a salt mine in Salzburg Austria. They take you on little train carts throughout the mine.
Also, although we are so close, we’ve never been to the Salt Lake. My husband said there is so much salt, that if you get wet, and your clothes dry, they are literally stiff as a board.
Oh, and the more comments you make the better, it makes me look popular 🙂
Good to know. I was wondering about sea salt. My mother-in-law will be visiting soon and can’t have salt (minimal), so I’m trying to figure my meal-planning to that.
I was just wondering about the differences between sea salt and regular salt so thanks for the post! I actually buy the sea salt grinder from Costco. It’s a huge bottle and is only 2.99. I think it’s a good deal.
Wow that is cheap! My husband just informed me he preferred the taste of sea salt.
The Kirkland Organic tortilla chips they sell have sea salt on them and they are yummy! When I first tried them I though they were too salty, but when I looked at the nutritional info it only had 5 % sodium. Must be because the sea salt has a stronger taste?
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Great information.i hope you will write another good post